How the PELLETB reading comprehension sub-test works
Passages range from a single paragraph to a full page. After each one you answer multiple-choice questions about it. POST says every passage covers common concepts and contains everything you need, so no police knowledge is required. POST’s sample questions include choosing the most accurate statement, applying a legal definition to cases and decoding a set of radio codes.
Reading is the whole reading component and gets its own T-score, separate from writing. Its 20 to 24 items stand against 45 to 54 writing items, so each reading question carries more of its section’s score. CLOZE, the fill-in-the-blanks reading test, was removed on 1 January 2025.
How to answer a reading question
POST’s guide gives three strategies. Use them on every passage:
- Read the question and the four options before the passage, then read the passage looking for what they ask about.
- Answer only from the passage. An option that is true in real life but not stated is wrong.
- Read the question very carefully. Many wrong answers come from misreading what is asked.
- Watch for options that go further than the text, with words like “anyone”, “always” or “must”.
Worked example
Passage: “A vehicle may be released from impound only to its registered owner, or to a person holding a signed letter from the owner. In either case, the person must show photo identification. A vehicle held as evidence may not be released until the investigating officer approves.”
Question: the registered owner’s brother arrives with photo identification but no letter. What should happen? a. Release it, because family members qualify. b. Do not release it, because he needs a signed letter from the owner. c. Release it once the investigating officer approves. d. Release it if he pays the impound fee.
The answer is b. Option a adds a rule the passage never states. Option c applies only to evidence vehicles. Option d relies on outside knowledge: the passage says nothing about fees.
Tips for the real reading sub-test
- Keep plenty of time for reading. The writing items are quick; the passages are not.
- Do not spend too much time on any one item, as POST’s instructions say. Skip it and come back.
- For a definition question, check each scenario against every part of the definition.
- Read daily in the weeks before: policies, news reports, long articles. POST calls this an aptitude built over time.
Practise PELLETB reading comprehension on CogniPrep
Our reading drill gives you 22 questions on 10 passages in 55 minutes, from short rules to page-long policies and general articles, with four options each. On a laptop the passage sits beside the question. You can move back and forth and flag questions. You get your percentage correct, compared with the average applicant in POST’s older published figures. The 55 minutes are the share of the real 1 hour 45 minute clock we suggest keeping for reading.